VM1138

I think some of you are getting way too upset about this. The book is solid all around. I've read many books and there's nothing else in this book that's controversial or questionable or twisted to dramatize anything more than any sports book does. And this incident is merely a throwaway mention, a brief sentence or two in a section about the whole goalie situation. I think I gave you guys the impression this was an entire section devoted to this incident. It just caught my eye, hardly anything to attack the author on for trying to sell books. I'm pretty sure no one else has really noticed it. There is nothing frivolous about the book, it's just a good collection of vignettes from all the Wings history. I would seriously recommend it for a fun trip down memory lane. It could be a mistake or misunderstanding, or he could be right on. Maybe Hasek told them to shoot at his head at the norm, but one practice they were pissed off and took some liberties with it and Hasek or someone else overly sensitive complained to the media or even to Kulfan when he was writing his book. The Wings are generally on top of keeping a lid on drama in the organization, so that only rumors slip out, and with the drama surrounding that season, who knows? I, too, remember several media reports about the team being unhappy about Hasek's return.

Touche, another good point. I'd recommend the book, though, it's a fun trip down memory lane.

Good point.

I don't think the Wings are in that bad of shape, really. Maltby will probably retire, who knows what Bertuzzi will do, pretty much everyone else will take some sort of pay cut because they are at the end of their careers. Who knows what is happening with Lilja. And they're almost all role players, so to replace them I don't think we'd need to spend more than 2 million on average per replacement player. (That's an average, some will be more and some will be less)

I was going to say just that. I'm an historian and a current affairs buff, and I don't think I've ever seen a society in the world that feels the need to strike and protest at EVERY opportunity, regardless of how small the slight.

I worry for the days when Devellano and Holland and Illitch are gone. These guys are just as responsible for success as the players and coaches, and will probably be hard to replace. I'm glad Holland and Devellano seem to be grooming Yzerman to replace them.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Quebecois are arrogant asses? I don't know. Maybe?

Yeah, it was awful, all those years of having the greatest American born defenseman on this team. Absolutely brutal.

And May is a MUCH better hockey player. Both ahve great attitudes. Give me the more balanced player any day of the week. I loved it when Downey was with us, but May is serving the same role with better hockey skills.

Oh man, Huet is taking them straight to the Cup this year, baby!

So does Columbus Day. Doesn't mean it's interesting or worth watching.

VM1138, right now I only play NHl 2010 (only game I own right now). Brand new to the PS3!

These injuries are starting to scare me. To get so banged up so easily so early on....a long and gruelling season doesn't bode well for the team, especialy the way they play inconsistently lately...

I think my local OHL team hits that number.

So Maltby played? Who sat? Eaves?

Just want to chip in something, even though I don't follow the prospects as closely as many of you. Tatar has the makings of being a superstar, I think. Without having watched him play a lot, the way the Wings treat him, he's basically been green-lit for the team as soon as he adjusts and a roster spot opens up in the next year or two. He's only 18, I think, so he'd also have a longer career potentially with the Wings than someone like Datsyuk or Zetterberg. McCollum I've heard nothing but good things about, but goalies are really hard to predict. Kindl will be on the team, but I'm not sure if he's as good as so many people seem to think. Maybe a solid second-pair defenseman? But just based on how he's being treated by the team, I'd say Tatar has by far the most potential. Oh, and Leino will be a star very soon. He's looked very, very good ever since he came here, like someone said: he looks like Datsyuk or Zetterberg when they first came here.

Congratulations, guys. You just lost to a team with not a single star skater (obviousl Miller would count as a star), let alone a superstar. You lost by four freaking goals to a team that had only scored four goals all previous games this season.

I know they're doing the defensive aspect well, but we need them to score. I love the well-roudned player but they are NOT role players. The team needs them to score.

Except for last game against Washington: Yes. A resounding yes.

This is frustrating. I know "it's just one game." But we've been saying that for a season and five games now, even in games they win... Where theh ell are Datsyuk and Zetterberg?

Yeah, because that's what wins games right? How bout the team shoots the puck a bit instead?

I thought the team was done with last year's style of play, that whole "play s***ty for a long time, then play a really good game, then back to s***ty." I don't get tonight's game at all. Osgood looked good, yet he gave up 5 goals. The team as a whole looked good for the most part, yet they can't get anything going. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have offensively disappeared ever since the playoffs last year. Why aren't at least one of them scoring? Seriously? It's weird to have two world-class players disappear at the same time for such an extended period. And what's with the passing? They're passing straight to Buffalo in the second period. They can come back and win this but they need to do two thigns: 1.) Shoot the puck! (I thought these days were behind us) 2.) Pass the puck to a Red Wing player! They can do this, but they've got to start early.

I have a good feeling tonight. We'll see some offensive magic from the Wings, I just feel like everything will click tonight, even better than the Washington game.

That's not what happened at all. Babcock came in and rode everyone really hard. Even Babcock, Yzerman, all these guys admitted that when he first came to Detroit he was...well...himself, but even to the veterans. If you have responsible veterans (Yzerman, Shanahan, etc.) you don't need to be looking over their shoulder all the time telling them what to do. Yzerman basically told Babcock to calm down and lay off the team a bit. Shanahan didn't demand special treatment, it's just a shock to go from being treated like a responsible player to having someone treat you like their kid all of a sudden. Had nothing to do with work ethic or earning a spot. Babcock realized his mistake and toned it down, by which time Shanahan claimed he felt he wasn't fitting in with the team's future anymore (which he really wasn't). In reality, maybe he thought the team would start sinking, we don't know. We can only take him for his word at this point. Therefore, it was a perfectly responsible, understandable departure from Detroit for Shanahan. Now, as for him delaying in the off-season, it happens. It's a hard decision, especially if he felt he wouldn't fit in with the team. Players take a long time to decide all the time. It sucks, but it's not like he did it to screw the Wings. Every since he left Detroit I've never ever heard him bash the Wings in any way, so I really doubt there is any ill-will.

What a bizarre story. Would this even have been allowed? I would imagine the fans in the cities would be royally pissed.